


Claws and Carriages Will See You Through

by RobinNightngale



Series: Feathers, Scales, and Ink Blotted Tales [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, alternate universe - pen pal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 16:49:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5056294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinNightngale/pseuds/RobinNightngale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason starts his journey to see the Drake estate, and if things didn’t get complicated along the way, then it wouldn’t be a day in the life of a prince.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Claws and Carriages Will See You Through

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wisia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisia/gifts), [ichihara_mina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichihara_mina/gifts).



> The part two to a christmas exchange that was just too fun to write.  
> And hopefully a way to make more shitty days into bearable ones.  
> Also the working title of this was "This Bird is the Most Orniary Match Maker I’ve Ever Seen."

    When Jason first came to live with Bruce, he loved traveling. No matter what part of the kingdom, no matter how far a trip, the boy loved every inch of exploring this new realm that he was a part of. During his teenage years, things certainly changed; anything that had him cooped up with the rest of his family had annoyed him to no end, and the carriages they traveled in weren’t exactly the most spacious things in the world. In his young adulthood his temperament towards family treks seemed to improve, but only by a small margin. All of this history was what made the way he bounced in his seat on the way towards the Drake estate so odd for the rest of the occupants. On quite a few occasions, both Bruce and Dick asked the servants quietly if something had been slipped into Jason’s food or drink. Out of the four onlookers Cass was the only one with a small knowing smile, to her the reason was written across his forehead.

    While his sudden change in behavior originally was met with much relief, after the first day of traveling even Cass who had treated the situation as a wonderful outcome, wanted him to revert back to his quiet sulking ways. One could only stand so much of a twenty five year old man bouncing in place, making the entire carriage shake.

    Dick tried to get it out of him why this 180 had developed, but the only response he received was a, “No reason in particular.”

    For Jason, this was as much giddy joy as it was overwhelming nervers. Not only would he see the young dragon boy he might be infatuated with, he would find out a response to his previous letter. That alone terrified him. He had the gall to tell his mysterious pen pal that the type of person he was interested in was well, his mysterious pen pal. Now he would be seeing him before he had some sort of reaction. Maybe it was better this way then at the next inevitable royal event that drew all the nobles into the palace and drew him out of his hiding places.

    Eventually, his excitement did die down, but the rest of his family might actually have have wished for the boisterous energy to return as his new mood set in: paralyzing anxiety.

  


    Tim stood on the old stone balcony that sat off of his favorite study, it had the largest bookshelf space and his parents had given in on him filling it to his heart's content many years ago. Carefully he stroked Faldrif’s feathers, anxious about the contents of the leather tube attached to the hawk’s ankle. He was taking a risk, but the prince had taken an even larger one in admitting his feelings to start with. Over the many months they had become friends, maybe more than that, he couldn’t let the step Jason took fall flat. He cared too much to not respond.

    “Timothy!” Before he could send the hawk off, his mother’s sharp voice called out from the entrance of the study. “What are you doing out here still? You have to get ready for the royal envoy, they’ll be here in an hour!”

    Everything went cold, “What?”

    “Did your father not tell you?” The woman sighed and shook her head, “The whole royal family will be staying at the villa for a week, now get ready. They’re on the main road and almost here.”

    The draft from sweeping wings and the sudden decrease in weight were Tim’s first signals that Fadrif had taken flight already. “No!!” Tim shouted and scrambled to get the bird back, but it was long out of reach.

    “Oh stop fretting that he left before you told him to go, he knows the way.” His mother waved her hand dismissively, talking vaguely as she walked away.

 

    Somehow Jason had actually started nodding off in the carriage, his head rested comfortably on Cassandra’s shoulder. All the excitement and panic had taken a lot out of him, so much so that he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

    Damian, who sat next to him, on the other hand found this trip incredibly dull and had successfully zoned out while looking through the window. Things stayed the same until his vision became obscured by a dark brown shape. As his eyes focused, his mouth parted in slight shock to see a hawk perched precariously on the small frame of the carriage window. It tapped lightly at the glass.

    “What in the world…?” Damian’s baffled voice made Jason stir out of his light slumber.

    When he finally managed to lift his head up and look out the window all the color drained from his face and his body went cold from terror. “No don’t!” The words were out of his lips right as Damian slid the window open and allowed the bird of prey in.

    The dejected groan Jay let out would have been the most surprising thing that happened that day if not for the hawk gliding over to sit on the young man’s lap and proceeding to shake its leg and peck at his hand in intervals.

    “What?! What do you want?!” Jason squawked as he yanked his hand out of the perturbed bird’s range. Again it shook its leg, giving a meaningful look at the tube on his ankle, then back at the prince. Looking hurriedly at his family, Jason rushed to undo the tube and shove the letter into his jacket without giving it a second glance. Nothing could make him want to explain this situation to any member of his family, let alone all of them at once. For some reason though, the giant pile of feathers and sharp things that he so wished he’d plucked months ago was still on his lap unmoving.

    “Shoo, go away!” He motioned with his hands to dismiss the bird, but it only fixed him with a stare as if he should be paid overtime for having to deal with a dense prince such as Jason. Jay looked wildly at the rest of his family who only stared back with various degrees of confusion and amusement on their faces. In a split second he was yelping, while being frustrated and freaked his hand had wandered back within the bird’s reach. Without hesitation it had taken advantage of his slip up and resumed pecking.

    “Fladrif I swear to god I will make sure the cook serves you to me steaming hot if you don’t quit it!!” That threat didn’t do much for his current situation in any shape or form.

    Dick’s eyebrows rose up into his hairline as Bruce tilted his head. “So Jason, you actually know the hawk that’s attacking you?” Bruce’s voice sounded almost amused at the plight of his second child.

    The only noise the prince could make was a cross between a sputter and a squeak, which made his older brother and sister cringe. He should have known that this would end up a horrible idea, he was going to the castle of the guy he just confessed his sorta feelings for, things inevitably would go down hill.

    While he was caught up in lamenting his self induced hell, he again had tuned his family and the rest of the world out. Somewhere in the back of his mind he became more aware of the pressing talons in his leg, but he filed it away as the bird just being annoyed at being continuously ignored.

    “Todd!” Damian’s warning came too late as the noise from his brother brought him back to reality as much as the sharp pain on his ring finger. Looking down in utter horror, Jason saw Fladrif attempting and succeeding in removing the royal ring from his digit.  Even if he had put up a fight, he knew the odds weren’t in his favor when it came to that bird.

    In a dazed silence, he watched it secure the ring in its beak before turning towards the carriage window, flapping its wings, and smacking Damian subsequently in the face as it left the way it entered.

    For a few moments the only noise around them was the sound of the wheels rolling across uneven ground and the horse’s hooves. “So uh, Jaybird, ya gonna explain what the hell happened there?” The amusement dripped from Dick’s voice.

  


    Tim always hated the pomp and circumstances that came with being a part of the royal court, but by his age his parents had trained him to at least hide his contempt better then when he was five. Normally he wouldn’t fidget about his appearance or awkwardly shift his weight back and forth while he stood waiting in the courtyard to greet the royal party with his parents, this wasn’t a normal situation though. He was about to see the young man he had secretly corresponded with for months, and he still had no idea if the wonderful prince had any idea that his dragon companion was actually him. He’d thought his clue was obvious enough, but still without any sign that Jason knew any better Tim had started to think telling him outright might be the best option. All of this didn’t take into account that his hawk might have done the announcement for him by randomly flying off.

    Delicate clopping of horse hooves brought him out of his thoughts and sent him in a panic. He should treat him like a stranger, but considering that made his heart ache in ways that convinced him he couldn’t pull it off. A gentle but firm weight rested on Tim’s shoulder with a slight pressure of talons. In utter amazement Tim looked over to see Fladrif perched with an air of regality.

    “What do you have there?” the young noble whispered as he held his hand out to the bird of prey.  Lightly, the pet dropped a royal ring into his palm.  As soon as he got a good look at it his mind went blank and he gasped in air.

    At the sound of his mother clearing her throat, Tim’s head shot up to see that already, the royal family had disembarked. Still in a state of shock he couldn’t help locking eyes with Jason.

    While one of the servants went through the procedure of announcing the royal arrival, Fladrif seemed to get bored and take off from his place on Tim’s shoulder.  For a moment, he thought he wouldn’t have to worry about the bird causing any more scenes; for a moment he lived in blissful denial.

    Not traveling very far at all, the hawk circled the group once before gliding down and nestling himself right on Jason’s mess of curls. Talons didn’t scrape against his scalp, but tangled themselves so firmly as if telling the man he wouldn’t be moved easily without consent. Fluffing his feathers, Fladrif sat right down as if this was his normal seat.

    “Timothy!” The words of utter horror coming his mother’s mouth made him cringe. “Control that pest at once!”

    “Drif, please come down?” Tim felt embarrassment creep through his entire body and could feel the heat from his face, begging with the petulant bird almost was the worst part.

    To everyone’s surprise though, Cass erupted in laughter over her brother’s plight. “I told you to brush your hair more!”

    “-tt- It’s only fitting the creature thought it a nest,” Damian chimed in, a slight grin creasing his lips.

    To the surprise of everyone, especially Tim’s parents, the King started chuckling. Before long Bruce was holding his side and grasping his tallet son’s shoulder. “Well if that isn’t a royal welcome I don’t know what is!”

    Slowly, the tension in the courtyard began to crack. Even Janet seemed to breath easier as Jack laughed jovially and walked over to clasp the larger man on the shoulder.

    “Ignore my children, Jack tell me about the newest dig site that you’ve discovered off to the west.” The other man started to speak animated as the pair walked off towards the entrance of the Drake’s estate.

    With a sigh Janet headed towards Alfred, flanked by the head staff members of the house. Together they discussed and had everything sent inside, following after the things as they went over the rest of the stay.

    With all the adults out of the way that only the royal children, Tim, and the falcon staring awkwardly at each other in the courtyard. Jason could feel the heat rising off his face and neck, everyone was staring, including the boy he cared for. On top of that he could tell his ring finger had swollen up from the bird’s rough treatment, and a few of the peck marks from earlier had started to bleed. This could only get worse if Fladrif dug his talons in, poop on his hair, or both. Luck hadn’t been on his side today.

    “Dick, Damian, I want to show you some of the trees I’ve climbed before.” Cass started to tug at her brother’s arms, a brilliant grin on her face.

    “But…”

    “Cain I don’t-”

    “No, come,” Cass interrupted any protests while dragging them across the stones and towards a path that seemed to lead towards more of the land.

    For a split second things seemed like they could work out for Jay, he finally had the gawking audience out of his hair, even if he still had the crankiest bird in the world caught up in his curls. Breathing a sigh of relief, he smiled naturally, the first time he’d done so since they started out on this adventure.

    It flickered off his lips before Tim could savor it as he remembered who he finally stood before.  Any amount of anxiety he had kept underwraps spilled out of him in a tidal wave when his eyes landed on the ring in the palm of the young man’s hand.

    His thoughts went a mile a minute, trying to grasp at something normal, casual, princely to say to this dragon that had captured his heart and flown it off to some far off tower. As he stumbled through words in his mind he felt cold wash over his body as Jason realized that it was very likely he didn’t want his heart back, but wanted instead to be with it as the centerpiece of this dragon’s horde.

    Sometime during his sudden realization and the clearing of his throat, Tim had moved within arms reach of the prince and was giving him a slightly worried and skeptical look. “Uh, your highness? Are you okay?”

    “I’ve got a very heavy, very deadly bird gettin comfy on my skull. Okay doesn’t seem like the apt word for this situation as I’d rather have you sitting on my head.” Snark came as Jason’s automatic defense, no matter what the situation. Innuendos and flirting often times also came out without thinking. It normally was a way to make those around him uncomfortable and place him at an advantage, right now though it only left him feeling like he’d been punched in the gut.

    Silence hung in the air, eating away at both of them from the very inside, a cold heavy creature that clung to their very breath.

    “Um…” The sound barely came out of Tim’s mouth and seemed more like a squeak than anything else.

    “Defense mechanism, can we just… just forget about me ever opening my big mouth…?” Jason didn’t sound much better than his companion, his voice coming out at an even higher octave.

    “Why would you need a defense mechanism though…?” Confusion was written plain as day across Tim’s face as he tried to figure out the royal in front of him.

    “Well I mean.. you can’t expect me to be without jitters when… when I’m meeting such a glorious Drake…”

    Tim fidgeted with the ring in his hand, rolling it back and forth against the palm of his hand. “So… when did you figure it out…?”

    “Honestly?”

    “No, lie to me,” the younger man’s tone was flat and his expression was incredulous.

    For a moment the tension and anxiety that had built up in Jason, not just from finally meeting his pen pal but from opening his big mouth too, float out from his body in a single exhale.

    “Your bird seems to think I’m stupid for having taken so long, but I also might have gone cuckoo and am reading way too into his actions cause I think he’s like his owner.”

    “Oh?” Tim’s eyebrow rose, “And you’re avoiding the question.”

    Jason allowed a crooked smile, hoping his companion wouldn’t see through the nerves he barely kept contained. “What? You seriously think I wouldn’t guess the mysterious and devious nature you showed that night didn’t extend to your actual life?” Almost running a hand through his hair, he stopped right before it smacked into the hawk. “Can you just, you know, find a perch on your owner or something? You proved your point.” Just to spite him, Fladrif wiggled deeper into the curls. “Fine, whatever. I figured it out once Bruce told me where we were going. Before that… I didn’t even know there were Drake’s in the court…” He almost mumbled the last part, as if  ashamed of the fact.

    A smile creased Tim’s lips, “I’m gonna guess you didn’t… didn’t get a chance to… um, read my letter yet…” When he spoke the fidgeting increased, the ring sliding onto his finger now as he spun it.

    “No… I just, I took the letter and stuffed it in my jacket then.. well tried to get the bird to shoo.”

    “Um well I could either show you to the villa you guys are staying at or maybe the kitchen, I know that after such a long ride one can get hungry. Or you know, anything you want to do.”

    Nervousness spiked inside of the prince, but despite all the anxiety he could feel his stomach rumbling. “You know… I am a starved. It’d be.. well nice to talk to you face to face, without masks.”

    “I’d like that… your Highness…”

    “Then after you... my Drake.”


End file.
